Warm-air furnace



sept 1s, 192s.

H. W. FRENCH WARM AIR FURNAQE Filed Oct. 4, 1927 2 SheetsSheci l H. W. FRENCH WARM AIR FURNACE Filed oct. 4, 1927 2 sheets-sheet 2 /N VEN Tof? Hrm/WYE Patented Sept. 18, 1928.

UNITED STATES HARRY W. FRENCH, OF SYRACUSENEW YORK.

WARM-AIR FURNACE.

Application led October 4. 1927. ySerial No. 223,910.

This invention relates to a warm air furnace but more particularly to the means for pre-heating the cold air upon its entrance into the warm air chamber of the heater preparatory to distribution to the roomsto be heated.

I am aware that various devices have heretofore been proposed for heating the air in transit from an external source of supply to the lower end ofthe warm air casing by causing the cold air to flow from the top downwardly around the exterior of the warm air casing but in most of the constructions with which I am familiar the cold air jacket surrounding the warm air casing is cylindrical from top to bottom and require the use of a supporting base of corresponding large diameter and, therefore, of special construction different from that ordinarily used. in fur naces which not only requires a larger floor space for the furnace, but also prevents the use of the'jacket with standard makes of Vfurnaces without making a special supporting base for the jacket.

The main object, therefore, of my present invention is to provide a cold air jacketwhich may be mounted upon standard forms and sizes of furnaces without increasing the floor area of the base and also .to enable the cold air inlet pipes and warm air outlet pipes to be more conveniently arranged around the top of the furnace with the cold inlet pipe or pipes overhead and wholly4 above the plane of the firepot.

Another object is to permit the use of a wat-er pan on the base around the ash box' and within the smaller end of the tapered bottom of the cold air jacket near the junctio-n of the bottom of the cold air chamber with the bottom of the warm air chamber so as to carry the moist vapor from the pan upwardly into the warm air chamber by the natural circulation of the cold and warm air currents.

Other objects and uses relating to specilic parts of the furnace will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings Figure l is a perspective View of aV warm air furnace equipped with my improved cold air jacket and other features of my invention.

Figure 2 Vis a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of line 2 2, Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view of the same furnace taken in the pla-ne of line 3-3, Figure 1.

f Figure 4 is a detail sectional View, partly tight joints therewith.

broken away, taken in the plane of line tw-4, Figure 3.

rllhe standardconstructions of furnaces are usually equipped with a substantially circular base ring or frame -1- carrying a suit able ash box -2-.--which, in turn, supports a lire pot -3-.

`These standard furnaces are also equipped with some form of head radiator as 4 which, in this instance, is mounted upon the upper end of the lire box -3- and is provided with a centralopening *.5 closed at the tcp but open at the bottom for receivinflr the products ofcoinbustion from the interio' of the Alire pot 341 'llieopening i3-isv provided in its front side with passage S connecting it with an annular chamber -7- which is formed in the radiator around the opening -5- and is provided in its rear side with an outlet -8- communicating with the smoke flue as v M9, the latter being adapted to lbe connected to any 'available chimney or other outlet to the atmosphere in any well-known manner not necessary to herein illustrate or describe.

The front wall of the chamber -7- may be provided with a clean-out opening 10.* normally closed by a. door 1l- The lire pot 3 and radiator f4- are inclosed within an upright cylindrical casing l2-- `mainly concentric therewith and in spaced relation thereto to form an intervening war'in air chamber -l3, said casing being supported upon the fire box -3- by means of brackets or braces .-14 as shown more clearly in Figure 3. y e

The front side of the acket -l2-- is provided with a cast metal front plate --12- having suitable openings coi'nnninicating with .the ash boi; -2- and lire pot -3 respectively but normally closed by openings 15,-.a and 16-, thefront plate '-12%- being extended from the base ring -1- to Sii CII

the main body or intermediate portion thereof is cylindrical and extended circumferentially around the major portion of the casing l2- in spaced relation thereto to form an intervening cold air chamber -2l-.

The lower smaller' end of the tapered portion 19 is made to conform to the diameter of the base ring -l-`- and `is;operatively "lower end of the casing *12m or between said casing andthe fire box -Snwhere the `cold air is further heated ior upward delivery through the distributing pipes 17 The upper end of the cylindrical portion of the casing 18- terminates at a level i some distance below the upper end of the cas- Ying -12- whileptheupper tapered portion ln20 of the acket 18- extends across the secured thereto to form an air'and gas-tight joint therewith. Y

The tapered upper end 20- of the cold airjacket --18-- ormsthe top walls of the warm air `chamber 13- and cold air chamber -`2l and servesnot only to receive the warm air distributing 4pipes -17-, but also to receive and support the adjacent endsof suitable cold air'inlet pipes m22- which may be connected to any available source of cold or fresh air supply. Y y

The smaller upper end of the tapered portion-QO- of the cold air jacket 18" is lprovided with a` depressed conical portion having its apex substantially co-axial with the axis yof the casing and extending some distance into the upper end of said casing or in proximity to the upper surface of the radiator -7- to assistin defiecting the Warm air from the upper-portion of the casing laterally and upwardly through the distributing pipes --17-.

The front cast metal plate 12- forms Va continuation of the cylindrical casing l2- across the front of the furnace while -the cold air jacket -18- terminates at opposite sides of the plate -12- in planes substantially radial tothe vertical axisof the furnace to forni an intervening open space at theV front for the swinging of the doors -l1-, ``l6 and l5- and to facilitate "the insertion of 'fuelandremoval of the ashes into and frornthe furnace.

The ends of the jacket m18-at the front are united to the adjacent portions of the casing `12 byxend walls w`-`21l extending from top to bottom ofthe cylindricalportion 1S-- and from top to bottom of the cast metal plate -`12-` for confining thecold air within the chamber -2l in its transit downwardly through'said chamber from the cold air inlets 22 to the underside of the bottom of the casing -12-.

A water pan 25 is supported within the lower or smallerend'of the tapered portion -19- of the jacket -18- directly upon the base -l-A and around the 'ash boX -2- so that its upper open side may be disposed in the lpath of travel of the cold air from `vthe 'chamber `21- into thewarm Vair chamber Under these conditions the watery vapor will'be'carried' by `the current of air passing from the cold air chamber to thewarm air chamber around the lower edge ofthe casing `--`l2-to mingle the vapor with the warm air rising in the warm air chamber and thereby to cause the vapor to pass outthrough the distributing pipes -17- into the room to be heated.

Operation.

`orroornsto be heated and duri-ng this-downward flow ofthe cold air throughthechamber -2l said `air is more or less pre-'heated by radiation from the jacket -l2- so that it enters thewarm air chamber f-13-` in a more 'or less heated condition and n is `then 'further heated inthe chamber 513- `for `delivery through the outlet pipes -17- as previously described.

As the pre-heated air `from the `loiwer'end of the chamber -21- passes aroundv thelower `edge of aiid into the chamber- 13% 4itcarries with it the watery vapor which maybe released fromthe pan -25--lthereby supplying the necessary humiditytothewarm air asV it passes into the rooms tobe heated.

lVhat I claim is z- The combination with a furnac'ehaving a n base, an ash-box mounted on the base, aiirepot mounted on theash-box and a warm air casing' mounted upon and `surroundingthe iirepot 1n spaced relation thereto, and having its lower end open and terminating in agplane tially the same plane as the lower endzofsaid casing' and its upper end terminating some distancebelowsthe level of the upper end of the easing, said jacket havinp a ldownwardly tapered bottom portion extending from the lower end oi the upright portion to the Inar ginai edge of the base, and an upwardly tapered top portion extending from the upper edge of the upright portion to the upper end of the casing and provided With a cold air inlet, and a top Wall for the Casing having its outer marginal portion tapered upwardly and united to the tapered top portion oi' thek 10 jacket to form a continuation thereof and provided with Warm air outlets.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 26th day of September, 1927.

HARRY W. FRENCH. 

